I Have Heard The Voice...

Ok, so maybe it wasn't a voice this time, but you get the drift. After weeks of praying and researching, and praying and thinking, I've finally opened my heart to the SN program. It just happened today, but I know it was days coming. Looking back, I can see all the ways it was presented to me and I'm so excited. Actually, Vuong and I are BOTH super excited!

I'll keep you posted!

On another note, my friend Jennifer and I went to the Steven Curtis Chapman/Michael W. Smith United Tour concert on Friday and it was rockin' awesome! We were in the center of the 6th row and it was perfect. I loved every minute of it, although SCC is my favorite. I didn't want it to ever be over. I came home inspired to start a band (no, I can't sing OR play ANY instruments!) or to follow their tour bus around the country. I know, I'm a super cheese ball but it was great! I put SCC on my short list of people to see whenever they come within 150 miles of here. The Dixie Chicks are also on the list - what a spread, huh?

And that's all for tonight!

Steph

Hi Honey, I'm Home

Hello All

I'm really sorry it's been so long. Time has just gotten away from me -- That and the fact that I lurk on about 10 different blogs daily which gives me no time at all to update my own! I do enjoy reading a couple of blogs every day and I get so disappointed when I check them and there aren't any updates. I can't imagine anyone ever reading MY blog like that! I'd definitely have to add some super cute baby pictures for that to happen! Does anyone have a few I can borrow?

Well, I'll catch you up in with bullets because it's been months and it would take me at least that long to type it all with details!

• Homestudy: We're getting there. We still need to watch the videos and take the tests. We've had our physicals. We're still waiting for our guardian letter to come in as well as 2 of our reference letters. Vuong is waiting on to find out if Russia has a Child Abuse Registry so he can get cleared. If they don't, then that's ok, too. But right now, we're waiting to find out if they even HAVE one. Of course, we've called the Russian Consulate in D.C., but can never speak to a human OR leave a message because the voice mail mailbox is full! :o(
• Work: School is ok this year. I have an interesting class with lots of different kinds of friends. They keep me busy. But I do love them (at least most of them... just kidding!) I'm feeling a calling to be a counselor, maybe because I spend the better part of my day trying to fix things/friends. I have a feeling this year will be a very rewarding one.
• China: We're starting to worry that the wait is now way over 3 years. We're considering changing countries, but we either have to wait 3 more years (to be married for 5 years) or the ONLY have children with special needs, which at this moment I'm not sure I'm entirely ready for. I go back and forth on this. I keep praying but so far haven't 'heard' anything specific. My ears and heart are open, though. I really want our baby to be Asian so it somewhat limits what countries we can adopt from. We are currently researching other programs and hope to make a decision soon so we can get a log in date.
• We had to put Daisy Jane to sleep. She was just too mean. And we wouldn't have passed our homestudy with her. I still think I hear her little bell on her collar (which signaled an attack) every once in a while but shortly after we put her down I had a vision of her sitting on God's lap and he was petting her and she was happy so I guess that's her way of saying she's ok. I do miss her, although I am enjoying not having to have a million band-aids on me anymore. ;o)

And I think that's about it. Oh, I know there's more, but I promise I won't make you wait for so long for the next one!

Steph

A Few More Checks On The List

The last two days have been busy getting local police clearance letters. I went by myself yesterday because I am just so anxious and ready to get this stuff done! I had a little trouble finding the place. I called and got an address, but I didn't do a search on google maps. Instead, I remembered that the lady who took our fingerprints the day before said something about getting the letters nearby and something about behind the building we were in. So, I went to Marietta Square again and thought I was getting really lucky finding a parking spot relatively close by. Then I walked to the building we were in before and then around it, searching for the address I got from the person on the phone. To make a long story short, where I was looking and where I was supposed to be were two different places. SO, I asked and found out I wasn't supposed to be on the Square, but down the road instead. I finally found the place! Whew!

So, once inside... hurdle two. They didn't want to give me two originally copies of my background check. They just wanted to give me one and then have me make a copy. Even after I kept telling them I specifically needed two. $30 later, they gave me two originals. Then they didn't want to notarize them because it says at the bottom they don't have to be notarized because of some House Bill. In fine print, however, it says they will notarize them if asked. So, nicely, I asked again. Finally, after what seemed like days, I was outta there! But not before breaking into a profuse sweat worrying that the cop (who was actually the notary) was going to arrest me for some unknown warrant I have. Don't laugh! It almost happened to my friend.

The cops showed up at her door one night and tried to arrest her for a warrant she didn't even know she had! Her purse was stolen earlier in the year and someone has been using her ID to cash bad checks in Atlanta. A bank issued a warrant for a check "SHE" cashed there. Of course, she didn't write the check or know anything about it! I mean, come on! She's a 2nd grade teacher and a vacation bible school teacher! (I have to add that because that's what she kept trying to tell the cops as they tried to arrest her! Bless her baby heart!)

AND the police station I was at getting my background check was the same one that sent to the police to her house. So, I started thinking "God, what if I have a warrant and this is when I find out about it!" I started sweating and when the lady called me to the window, with the officer standing beside her, I was soooooo scared! But then, I saw "NO RECORDS FOUND" stamped in red across the bottom and realized HE was the notary so I felt much better. Also, cranking the A/C down to 60 degrees with all the vents in the car pointed at me helped, too.

Needless to say, when I took Grady back to get his today, things went MUCH smoother! I knew exactly what to say and we were in and out in a matter of minutes. I hope Vuong has the same success when he goes. That might be after work Friday. I'll keep ya posted.

Until next time....

We've Jumped Through The First Hoop!

Today was our first home study visit. It went very well. It was long... 3 hours total... but it was good. The first hour was Vuong and I together. Then we took a short break and I did my individual for almost 2 hours. I think I was little nervous at first, but after a while I felt fine and it was pretty easy. Vuong has his individual next Wednesday. Then, after our vacation, we'll meet again as a couple. Then lastly, she'll come visit our home. She said for now we can keep the psycho cat, but that we'll need to get rid of her before we get our baby. I'm sad, but ok with that. I know she's not the kind of pet to have around young children. Ha! She isn't even the pet to have around grown adults! But I know the 6 years I've had her, she's had a good life. More on this subject later.

Today, we also got fingerprinted. I wanted to get our background checks, but my family pooped out on me and didn't want to do it today. I guess we're all going to go on our own time to get it done. I also ordered some suggested reads and the parenting DVD's we have to complete for our home study. I copied Grady's birth certificate and I'll have that notarized tomorrow. We also had the passport size photos taken. They're not for our passports, just for our file. I was so mad because when I got the photo for my real passport, the girl who took my picture told me I COULDN'T smile, so of course I didn't and it looks like a bad mugshot! AND I'm kind of looking off to the side so not only does it look like a bad mugshot, I also look like I'm blind. Great! And I have to keep this thing for 10 years! When Vuong got his passport photo, he got to SMILE and he looks normal! Oh well, whatever! I'm sure if a bad passport photo is the worst thing that can happen to me, I guess I'll live. In all, it was a very productive day and it feels good. There's still lots to do but I'm slowly but surely getting it crossed off the list.

So now I'm waiting for my new book and DVD's. I'm also looking forward to our next home study visit. We have our physical appointments on July 7th, but we may have to reschedule due to our busy schedules right before our vacation. I'll have to see about that.

And that's about it for today! Whew! I'm wiped out!

1st Home Study Appointment Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is our first home study appointment with Dianne at Hope For Children. I'm not really that nervous because everyone tells me that's it's not that scary. But I'm not really sure what to expect so that's probably the scariest part. I'll be sure to post how things go.

This week (maybe tomorrow), I'll get my background checks, my fingerprints, and small passport photos. I'm sure we'll do some other things, but those are the first on the list.

We're taking a little vacation to OK and TX in a few weeks. We decided to drive so we could visit Graceland on the way there and New Orleans on the way home. I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to see my sisters' kids and go to the BEACH! Of course, it will be awesome to see my friends in TX, too!

We got a little tidbit of news on the house (as we enter the 15th week!) on Friday. We will not be closing before the 21st of July. Kinda disappointing but that's the reason we're able to make plans to go on our little vacation. I just hope we don't have to close during the first few weeks of school. That's really not a good time to have so much to do at work getting the year started AND having your entire house/life in disarray! We'll see how it goes!

And that's it for today!

Moving Along on the Paper Chase!

I've been busy paper chasing. So far I've....

• Copied birth certificates, marriage license, and passports and had them all notarized.
• Made an appointment for our first home study (June 24th)
• Made appointments for our physicals (July 7th)

We still need to get our background checks and fingerprints. Before our home study, we have to fill out a questionnaire which has lots and lots of questions. Soooo much to do, but it feels good to finally get started.

As soon as we get a LID (Log In Date), I think we'll pick a name. We have it narrowed down to about 25 (hey, that's good if you know me and my love for names!) but we have a few that we keep going back to. We still have a few months to decide. I do want to name her soon because right now she's just called 'the baby' or 'our baby from China'. It would be nice to call her something else! (Although, both of those are better than what Natalie (one of my students called her)....'that girl from China'!)

Oh, and for those that might still be wondering.... we're hoping to hear something about the house soon. (Haven't I been saying that for 15 weeks now?!?) I think it's for real this time. As soon as I do know, I'll post or email. Maybe we can move before I have to go back to work! That would be awesome! I am kind of bummed that this waiting has totally wrecked my summer vacation plans! I just can't plan a trip to TX or OK until I know if and when we're going to close. As the days turn into weeks, my travel opportunity gets shorter and shorter. :o(

And that's it for tonight!

It's Official... We're Starting Our PaperChase!

Well, it's official! We started our paperwork this week and to be honest, I was very nervous! I'm excited that it's finally time to start after waiting for a year and a half, but I'm also afraid of the LONG wait we have ahead of us. But we'll be fine. First Fridays was great this month. It was all about the wait. I love how God does that... gives me just what I need, when I need it. We'd been struggling for weeks, trying to decide if we wanted to pursue Chinese adoption because the wait is 3+ years right now and we worry that it will only increase making us OLD by the time we get our baby! But FF, coupled with the message I got as I was getting ready to go (We're waiting for HER, not US), I feel ready to get started. AND, thanks to Dan Chapman for that awesome FF analogy.... We WILL get on that "big honkin' First Friday boat" and ENJOY the ride down the RIVER! :o)